Using youths to revive agriculture

However, in many ways, young people are not very interested in continuing in agriculture because they don’t see much prospects in the future of agriculture; they don’t see it as an active profession in the long-run. Many of the smallholder farmers are quite aged and the younger generation focuses more on the non-existent white collar […]

However, in many ways, young people are not very interested in continuing in agriculture because they don’t see much prospects in the future of agriculture; they don’t see it as an active profession in the long-run. Many of the smallholder farmers are quite aged and the younger generation focuses more on the non-existent white collar jobs.
However, it is widely believed that farming offers the young generation a chance to make a difference by growing enough food to feed the world if given the chance to do so. Engaging youth in agriculture has been a prominent topic recently and has risen up the development agenda, as there is growing concern worldwide that young people have become disenchanted with agriculture.
In Nigeria and currently around the world, we are living in an era where rapid urbanisation has led to a decline in rural population and for the first time ever majority of the world’s population live in cities.
The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that “by 2030, six out of every 10 people will live in a city, and by 2050, this proportion will increase to seven out of 10 people” meaning that more young people than ever before are moving to cities and towns to find work, leaving few behind to work in rural areas.
However, recent research shows that in most of Nigerian farming population there is a compelling evidence of ageing farmer population in the country which must be addressed to facilitate sustainability in agricultural production and also the poor image of persons involved in agriculture,especially in the rural communities has portrayed a negative status of thenoble profession of farming.
According to a 53-year-old farmer, Abdullahi Usman Farawa, engaging the youth in active agricultural practices may not be successful as the younger generation always considers the goodies that the city offers and there are no farms in the cities. Young, ambitious people have never looked at agriculture as a source of income and livelihood.  
“It is hard to involve them in activities related to agriculture because they think it
is meant for the old and does not make a good living. Even if they did want to enter into the profession, they would not have access to the land they need. These young people are instead dreaming of going to cities and towns and landing a big job, leaving the elderly to tend to crops,” Farawa stated.
Perhaps, the federal government’s attempt to involve the youth in agriculture through the revival of school agricultural programmes may not be unconnected to the increasing concern of the young leading them to abandon agriculture.
According to Lawan Bashir of the Agric Department, Kano State Ministry of Local Government, farmers clubs in Kano schools can be done by exposing students to innovative agricultural practices and agriculture potential information via modern technologies that will be catchier to their level of social understanding and also through presentations and interactive internet programmes.
He added that this will culminate in the raising a generation of farmers willing to use ICTs to create and utilise extension information.